Corpse Retriever

After the exam, all that remained was to wait for the results. After all, university applications had already been submitted before the college entrance exam.

Li Zhuiyuan officially began preparing for college life. The first task was to haul out the dozen or so book-filled trunks from his great-grandfather’s basement and lay them out in the sun.

Over the past half-year, he’d had too many books, documents, and blueprints on hand to bother digging around down there.

But since he was headed to Jinling, he definitely had to select a few to take with him.

Runsheng, Yin Meng, and Tan Wenbin bustled about, carrying all the boxes up to the second floor. They opened them one by one and spread the contents out for Li Zhuiyuan to pick from.

Technically, the courtyard offered more space. But with Granny Liu sitting there sipping tea, Li Zhuiyuan didn’t want to risk spreading out any Qi Clan techniques in full view.

That would be far too awkward.

To his surprise, he found something even more embarrassing.

The Qi Clan Compendium.

The boy flipped through a few pages, then stood still for a long while, book in hand.After all that time and effort decrypting the set, it turned out the cipher book had been sitting in the basement all along?

Luckily, he didn’t find a text version of the Chronicle of the Qi Clan down there. Otherwise, he might’ve had a breakdown.

For now, he could only comfort himself: the process of forcefully decrypting it had been a valuable form of study. It had deepened his understanding and helped him grasp the Qi Clan’s spatial mechanics more quickly.

Books on worldviews, morality, health cultivation, yin-yang balance—these made up the bulk. Valuable, no doubt, even priceless. But for a young man, most of them could wait.

What he really needed were reference books. In the end, he selected three sets: Classic of Miasma Techniques, Overview of Qi and Form, and The Sutra of Earth Store Bodhisattva.

Though Wei Zhengdao had written about breaking miasmas, and both the Qin and Liu clans had their own Qi observation methods, those texts read more like formulas—detached, impractical. The first two books he picked were essentially worked examples built on those formulas, great for reinforcing his foundation.

As for The Sutra of Earth Store Bodhisattva, it covered Walking the Shade. What he’d learned so far was the foundational Twelve Techniques of the Yin School, but this was more advanced. Its title page even claimed:

“He who masters this method may walk the Netherworld and tread the Yellow Springs, hearing Dharma beneath the Bodhisattva’s seat.”

Of course, that was poetic exaggeration. Still, no book from his great-grandfather’s basement had ever spouted nonsense.

To his disappointment, Li Zhuiyuan didn’t find any more works by Wei Zhengdao, nor anything from the Qin or Liu clans.

He also had the vague sense that his old method—pure reading—was approaching a bottleneck.

After all, inheritance depended on people. Even in the modern industrial age, there were still cases of skilled workers dying out, leading to the loss of entire techniques.

Take the things Luo Gong had been ”mailing” him lately. They had long gone beyond books. Every dataset, every design schematic—it all represented the painstaking efforts of countless people from this generation.

Once he’d sorted through the books, Runsheng and the others repacked them and returned them to the basement.

These were treasures. Their current market value was already high. Once antiques became trendy again, they’d be worth even more—especially those written on Buddha-skin paper, Wei Zhengdao’s favorite. That stuff was rare and precious.

You could say Great-grandfather had always lived atop a mountain of gold.

But… Great-grandfather didn’t seem to care about money.

Even if his wealth multiplied tenfold overnight, he would still live just like this.

When Li Zhuiyuan returned from washing his hands by the well, he saw Li Sanjiang sitting in a chair at the edge of the courtyard, pen in hand, doing calculations in a notebook.

“Great-grandfather, what are you working on?”

“Figuring out your tuition.”

“I got a tuition waiver.”

“What about room and board?”

“Waived too.”

“Living expenses…”

“I’ve got a scholarship.”

“So, our Little Yuanhou’s going to college without spending a single cent of family money?”

“I might even come out ahead.”

“Hmph!”

Li Sanjiang tossed the pen aside and folded his arms.

Sending his great-grandson to college—sure, it was a financial burden, but more than that, it was a joy. Now that joy had been taken from him.

He had fantasized about going to the post office every month to wire money. When people asked where he was headed, he’d sigh, then proudly raise the receipt: “Ah, just sending money to our Little Yuanhou!”

If the boy ever ran short, he’d call from Aunt Zhang’s shop. Then Li Sanjiang would happily scrape together more money to wire over.

Now that dream was crushed.

Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward and hugged his great-grandfather around the neck.

“Great-grandfather, it’s not enough. I need to buy books. I need materials. I need new shoes and clothes. I have to keep up with my classmates.”

Li Sanjiang’s lips started to curve upward.

“I can’t be outdone by the city kids. Can’t let them laugh at me for being from the countryside. So, Great-grandfather, you still need to send me money every month.”

Li Sanjiang nodded vigorously.

“Yes, exactly right!”

Over by the tea table, Liu Yumei nearly spit out her tea.

She dabbed her lips with a handkerchief and said to Aunt Liu beside her, “That brat’s mastered the art of manipulating his great-grandfather.”

Aunt Liu whispered, “That brat’s coming over.”

Li Zhuiyuan approached and, seeing the tea had cooled, refilled the pot.

“Granny Liu, will you still be staying here after I go to college?”

“You go to college. What’s that got to do with me?”

“But—”

“No buts. You think you’re someone important, do you? Hmph.”

“Yes, yes. You’re right.”

“Child, never overestimate yourself. It’s a good way to fall hard.”

“Thank you for the lesson. I’ll remember it.”

“Go on, don’t bother me.”

“Aye, alright.”

Li Zhuiyuan scampered off.

Liu Yumei gently tapped the lid of her teacup and murmured to Aunt Liu, “Tingting, we’ve still got a house in Jinling, right?”

“Yes, but it’s a bit far from Haihe University.”

“Then buy one closer.”

“Understood.”

“Sigh… It’s for Ah Li’s sake. She’s improved a lot this past year. I raised that child—being cold-natured is only natural. I never expected her to be bubbly. But still, how is it she can’t speak?

“That brat has to cure her enough to get her talking.”

“Will you take him as a disciple? He’ll be leaving soon, after all.”

“No rush. We’re the ones needing him right now. Taking him in too early would complicate things.

“Once we’re in Jinling, leave The Liu Clan’s Art of Observing Qi on his desk. Let him study it. When he starts running into things he can’t understand, he’ll come asking. Then we’ll bring him in naturally.”

“You’ve thought it all through.”

“Heh. No matter how clever, a child’s still a child. How many tricks can they really pull?”

“That’s true.”

Aunt Liu stifled a laugh. From her vantage point, it was clear the boy had come over just to be scolded.

Granny Liu had mocked Li Sanjiang for being so easily manipulated. But truth be told, she’d been played just as well.

…

That evening, as they ate dinner, the postman arrived on his bicycle, shouting across the rice fields:

“He passed! He passed!”

In those days, even getting into a vocational school warranted a family banquet. Getting into a proper university? Even more so.

Tan Wenbin set down his chopsticks, about to run out, but Li Sanjiang stopped him. He pulled out two packs of cigarettes, handed the unopened one to Tan Wenbin, and said:

“Go on!”

“Aye!”

Tan Wenbin fetched the admission letter—it was from Haihe University.

He wasn’t overly excited. Even with the tough math exam, he’d handled the rest of the subjects well. This result felt natural.

But as he walked past the rice fields and came into view of everyone in the courtyard, he lifted the letter and ran forward, yelling:

“I got in! I got in!”

Dinner ended in laughter and cheer, and the conversations lasted deep into the night.

Then those with beds went to bed. Those with coffins went to coffins.

Li Zhuiyuan bathed, then pushed open his great-grandfather’s door.

Li Sanjiang sat on his bed, counting money.

“Great-grandfather.”

“Aye,” Li Sanjiang nodded. “This is congratulation money for Zhuangzhuang.”

“Mm.”

“Runsheng and Menghou are going with you to Jinling, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then we should reserve funds for renting a place. I’ll scrape together more—shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Liangliang has an off-campus place. I’ll stay in the dorms. They’ll stay with Liangliang. He’s hardly home anyway.”

“But living with someone else… it’s not ideal.”

“Uncle Tan promised to rent a place for Binbin. It was one of Binbin’s pre-exam conditions.”

“Alright then. Zhuangzhuang’s family isn’t strangers.”

“Great-grandfather, will you be lonely after we leave?”

“You’re going to college. You’ll be back on break. Child, don’t worry about your great-grandfather. When I was your age, I wandered the world, barely had a home.”

“What about things at home…”

“I’ve spoken to your grandparents. They’ll move in. Your grandpa’s in good shape—he can work the fields. Your grandma can’t do crafts—the paper effigies she makes are godawful.

“She can cook. Guiyinghou’s good in the kitchen.”

“Great-grandfather, do you know Aunt Liu’s leaving?”

“She already pickled a bunch of jars of vegetables and sauce ahead of time. And made a pile of paper effigies. Obvious signs. I figure she’ll bring it up in a few days.

“I’ll just need to find someone handy and hardworking again. Tch… I’ll start asking around soon.”

“Great-grandfather, as long as you have a plan.”

“Little Yuanhou, don’t worry about me. No one in this world is truly irreplaceable.” Li Sanjiang reached out and patted the boy’s head. “When you’re out there, enjoy yourself. Don’t worry. If I get sick or something happens—ptooey—I won’t keep it from you.”

“Okay. I understand.”

“Oh, right. One more thing. My belongings have already been bequeathed to you, in front of the village head and everyone.

“But that house and peach grove from Dalinzi’s family—they’re under my name, but weren’t included in the will.

“In a few days, I’ll invite the village head for another meal and get that place notarized for you too.

“I figure Dalinzi’s been gone this long without a word… He’s probably not coming back.”

Li Zhuiyuan knew that Ding Dalin and his group had been gone nearly a year.

Li Sanjiang exhaled a puff of smoke and smacked his lips.

“Maybe it looks a bit greedy, doing this. But you’re heading off far away, and if something were to happen to me—ptooey, ptooey—we need to be prepared.

“In a village like this, if things aren’t spelled out in advance, it gets messy fast.

“I did have an agreement with Ding Dalin. The house and land are mine. He could live there, but when he left, it’d go to you.

“If he ever comes back, just let him stay again.”

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